Duterte to Reds: Ceasefire first before we talk peace

“Not a single shot fired.”`

President Rodrigo Duterte made this demand to the communist rebels on Friday as he reiterated his willingness to resume the peace talks.

“There have to be a ceasefire. Not a single shot fired,” Duterte said during a press briefing upon his arrival at the Davao International Airport from Hong Kong.

The peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF)  collapsed in November 2017 after the President signed Proclamation No. 360, formally terminating the talks with the Maoist insurgents.

The termination came after  armed rebels launched a series of attacks against government troops.

Aside from a ceasefire, the chief executive also demanded the communist guerillas to stop their collection of revolutionary taxes.

The President had earlier said he was giving the government and the NDFP peace panels “a timeline of something [like] two months, 60 days” to return to the negotiating table.

In February, the Duterte administration petitioned a court to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA, as terrorist organizations.